A Construction Site

Our new view

 

It’s been almost a year since we last posted, and at that time we’d been looking at other school libraries for inspiration.  The design of our space went on as originally planned and is now a work in progress.  Much of our print collection (75%) will be housed in compact shelving in the basement level.  Before packing up all those books, though, our little staff carted about 2500 books up and down the stairs in cardboard boxes, moving Fiction and Biography upstairs, moving History down.  On the last day of school, we started packing up in earnest, filling over 400 boxes with books and back issues of magazines.  A week ago demolition began–walls have come down, carpets have come up, and the dirty work has begun.  Check out the photos.

Salisbury: Phinny Library

"Reading Room"

The numbers:

• Type of school: independent, grades 9-12
• Student population: 290 boys
• Age of library: @ seven years
• Collection size: 23,000 volumes, 100 periodicals
• Floor plan: 1 floor
• Number of computers: counted 7 at one long table; 4 normally found at tall kiosk-type tables at entrance
• Seating: Plentiful: study tables, carrels, soft chairs in various groupings
• Group study accommodation: 4 study rooms, 4 students each
• Teaching facilities: 2 seminar rooms, serviced by tablet computers

Observations:

There are a number of similarities between Salisbury School and The Gunnery:

• They are very close in size.
• Both schools’ libraries are located in classroom buildings, so traffic issues are similar.
• Evening study halls are held in both libraries.
• Increasing demand for group work spaces at both schools.

And some differences:

• The Phinny Library’s print collection is considerably larger than ours
• Of course, Phinny is practically brand new; it has a very traditional, formal look.
• Staff space is greater; copier is away from study areas
• Phinny Library can accommodate groups
• Seating arrangements offer better chance for quiet study

Librarians agree . . .

• Computers arranged side-by-side makes socializing easy; not recommended configuration in quiet zones;
• Reading areas next to computer areas will not be quiet spots; better to tuck small, comfortable seating areas away from circulation desk, copier, and computers;
• Open-stack shelving allows for “self-service” browsing to many simultaneous users.

In conclusion:

The open floor plan, and centrally located Circ Desk offer good visibility of student activity in the library. Group study rooms are great; given our space limitations, though, we might experiment with incorporating small study groupings into our stacks, in the way that Phinny has.

Good start . . . see more photos of our visit.

Road trip!

And so we begin . . .

The Tisch Family Library, located in the Schoolhouse Building at The Gunnery, will be part of a multi-phase renovation over the next two years. For the library, issues of concern, among others, include providing:

• Group study areas
• Quiet study areas
• Instructional space
• Collection space

In an effort to design the best space possible for all of the services our facility provides, library staff plans to visit a number of independent school libraries in the area to see how they deal with these issues. Visits will be documented with photographs and interviews posted on this blog, so that our plan reflects the best features and practices of these libraries, and avoids their errors and regrets. This blog will serve as an ongoing documentation of the planning process.